Have you ever wondered if something living was outside of our world? Somewhere in those far-away, remote regions. Well you may be right. In this project we will be investigating exoplanets and the search for life.
There are many stars in our universe, and many of them have multiple planets. These planets are also known as exoplanets/extra-planets. They may contain life. Many people are searching for life. Others are searching for intelligent life with radio technology. They send and receive signals. Many are from Earth, but one may be a real alien signal. If it is then we should investigate immediately. There has only been one signal that may have been an extraterrestrial signal . Also there is life on Mars. There are bacteria that came from an asteroid. Where did it come from? No one knows. But that does not matter, because those germs are not intelligent life or life that would affect us largely. And if there really is extraterrestrial life do not expect them to look like humans (this may be due to low gravity) their bodies are large, but very delicate or vise-versa. They may have a tail to! It all depends on the conditions in which the E.T beings live in. But if we do find intelligent E.T. life I hope it would help forget differences between humans and unite us.
So what are the odds of life existing in the universe? Pretty high. Here is the equation for the probability of finding life:
N = R* • fp • ne • fl • fi • fc • L
N = The number of civilizations in The Milky Way Galaxy whose electromagnetic emissions are detectable.
R* =The rate of formation of stars suitable for the development of intelligent life. fp = The fraction of those stars with planetary systems. ne = The number of planets, per solar system, with an enviro...
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...ur wonderful solar system you may ask? Well, thanks to telescopes today like HUBBLE, we can view exoplanets. I am going to tell you about exoplanets.
People have been looking at the night sky and wondered what is there ever since mankind existed. But what did people think about this in ancient times?
Today, how do we find these planets? It is very difficult and hard to find exoplanets. To find exoplanets, scientists use what is called the Doppler technique. This technique uses the Doppler effect to analyze the motion and properties of a star and a planet. This is one way that scientists can find exoplanets today.
Fun facts:
On the Wow signals 35th anniversary the Arecibo radio telescope launched 10,000 tweets about the Wow! signal
By now earthly TV leaks have traveled outward 64 light years so aliens may be watching the very first Mickey Mouse right now.
The research area of detecting exoplanets, planets outside our own solar system, is a huge area of interest and funding. The importance of being able to detect these planets is they can give us information and an insight into planetary formation, to help the search for ”Earth- like” planets in the habitable zone, and of course the ever-present question of extraterrestrial life. So on order to attempt to gather information about these things we must be have solid detection techniques in place for exoplanets. A few of the important methods shall be discussed here, including the radial velocity method, transit method, direct imaging and gravitational microlensing among others .
Finding life in our solar system could potentially answer the questions humanity has been asking for thousands of years. Sarah Seager, a professor at MIT, mentioned some of these thought provoking questions, “why are we here? Why does our universe exist? How did Earth form and evolve? How and why did life originate and populate our planet?” Answers to these questions could give humanity a deeper understanding of who we are and what our place in the universe is. Steven Dick believes that humanity has “… deep psychological yearnings for companionship, superior wisdom, or ‘an ineradicable desire to see the skies filled with life’.” Those opposed may argue that a biological universe will have little effect on humanity’s understanding of our place in the universe because a biological universe simply does not exist. One may argue that life is exceedingly complex and the odds of conditions being just right for the production and the sustainment of life are slim. Our civilization may have managed to beat the odds, but many its unlikely to for this to occur elsewhere in our solar system. The proof to back this argument is the N =1 equation. The only solid evidence we have proves that only one planet has beaten these insurmountable odds and produced life. While this argument makes logical sense, relying solely on evidence we have at the moment, takes our focus away from the
To better understand the planets, we need to first have a basic understanding of our
The existence of life – Aliens, beyond our planet has been a controversial topic for several centuries, and is a debatable issue even today in the 21st century. What is our topic you may ask? Aliens, Do, Exist. According to theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, it would be improbable for life not to exist somewhere other than Earth. This is a bold claim, but there is evidence to support this statement. The evidence we seek is in the many Alien occurrences we have experienced throughout human history.
It is without a doubt that the most fascinating thing about space is the possibility of life elsewhere beside Earth. It is estimated that the Milky Way Galaxy itself contains about 300 billion stars. Each star contains planets and some planets might even have moons. With these findings, the question is no longer whether life exists elsewhere. The probability that Earth is the only place where life exists in the universe is far too slim. NASA has identified many planets that have similar conditions to Earth but most of these planets are hundreds of light years away so traveling there to find out if there’s any living organism is not easy. Luckily, scientific evidences have pointed out that one of the moons of Jupiter, Europa, could be one of the places where life can exist. If the theories proposed by astronomers about Europa are true, life on Europa might not even be entirely different than life near the bottom of Earth’s oceans.
Is there such thing as life outside of Earth? The building blocks of life are carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Those ingredients condense to form all living things, new stars and even new planets! So, who’s to say those ingredients didn’t form other life on other planets? Think about how vast outer space is. There are millions and millions of other planets, stars and galaxies! It’s not that far out there to think that there might be other life in space, in fact, some people even have stone hard evidence that supports the idea of “aliens”. I personally believe there is such thing as extraterrestrials, and I believe they have visited earth before. As a child, I remember my dad and I would sit around all afternoon watching alien documentaries or shows about people hunting aliens and searching for UFOs. When it comes to aliens people have so many questions; have aliens been to earth before? Are they currently living on earth? Are they controlling us? Does the government know? If so, are they hiding it from the public? There are so many questions you can ask but, in order to answer them, you have to
"Our solar system consists of one star and a few debris," pronounced Carl Sagan. There endures an abundance of differences and similarities between the Inner and Outer planets. Our solar system consists of the Sun in the middle, followed by planets rotating it. The planets which orbit the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The Inner planets are completely different from Outer planets and the Outer planets are completely different from Inner planets, however both abide many similarities. The planets in the solar system have a multitude of similarities and differences.
Have you ever looked up in the sky and wondered if there is life elsewhere in the universe? Have you ever looked at a photograph of Mars and wondered if there really was ever life on it? People have a wide variety of opinions regarding these questions and with good reason. As far back as the broadcast of H. G. Well's novel, "The War of the Worlds", the world has been fascinated with the possibilities of what Mars may hold. Over time, the majority of people have come to realize that there is no way that life can currently be on Mars. Those who are uncertain think there may be microscopic bacteria underground.
Venus, the second planet closest to the Sun and Earth’s closest neighbor, is known for its many wonders and harsh conditions. Venus is possibly the first planet discovered by humans and is said to have been first discovered in 17 B.C. by Babylonian astronomers. Venus is the first planet to be explored by spacecraft although many of these attempts have proven unsuccessful. Fortunately, more than twenty of the spacecraft explorations been proven successful, and through those we have gained knowledge about this wonder of the night sky.
Do aliens exist? For eons, mankind has pondered over this peculiar question and a revealing truth has yet to be answered. However, one thing is known for sure, the discovery of intelligent alien life outside of Earth would provide support to prove and/or disprove fundamental beliefs that have been held for centuries. In any case, the discovery would serve as a cornerstone for humanity to make the quantum leap in understanding the purpose of our existence. Based on numerous examples, it is impossible to deny the existence of extraterrestrial life outside of Earth. Reportings of sightings, ancient civilizations beliefs, and scientific proof from scientists and astronomers are all key factors that contribute to this statement.
While this idea may seem straight out of a science fiction movie, some evidence suggests that an extraterrestrial origin of life may not be such impossible idea.
Two galaxies which are believed to revolve around our own are the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. Only visible from the Southern Hemisphere, Magellan, the famous European explorer, was the first to describe these galaxies. Even though we know a great amount more than the astronomers in the past, there is still an even larger amount we do not know about the universe to this day. Even our own solar system contains many questions yet to be answered. Some of these include the possibility of a planet beyond Pluto (Planet X), the means by which the system was created, and even the possibility of a sister star to the Sun named Nemesis.
Our solar system has eight planets, their moons and satellites, and they are all orbiting the Sun. The eight planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto used to be the ninth planet but IAU changed the definition of planet and Pluto did not meet the standards so it is now a Dwarf planet.
One of the most common unanswered questions scientists find themselves asking is "Is there life on other planets?" Since the first famously documented UFO sighting in 1947, the idea of extra-terrestrial life has been debated almost non-stop. The subject has inspired many TV programs, such as The X-Files, and films (Mars Attacks, Independence Day, and the Men in Black films to name but a few). Scientists have come up with many new ideas and ways of trying to either prove or disprove the existence of life elsewhere.
Where did astronomy originate? According to the Department of Astronomy, the earliest people to keep astronomical records where the Akkadians (they lived in what is later known as the northern part of Babylon). The earliest date is from around 2,500 B.C. The ancient Akkadian priests were the first to record these astronomical records. They recorded these records because it helped them predict some of the Sun’s motions, and the Earth’s moons, and the stars. These records included observations of the daily, monthly, and yearly positions of the stars and planets. These records explained the geographical locations of the planets. The records also helped with them being able to judge when to plant and harvest crops and with religious ceremonies.